Caroline Flack's Family Shares Emotional Unpublished Social Media Post She Wrote Before Her Death
The family of former Love Island host Caroline Flack has released an unpublished social media post that she wrote before her death over the weekend.
On Wednesday, the Poplar Coroner’s Court confirmed that Flack had died by suicide on Saturday at the age of 40. Her death came nearly two months after she stepped down as the host of ITV’s Love Island after being charged with assault by beating following a reported incident involving her boyfriend Lewis Burton. (Flack pleaded not guilty and was set to face a trial in March.)
In a previously unpublished social media post, given by the television personality’s family to local newspaper The Eastern Daily Press on Wednesday, Flack said the incident was an “accident” and expressed that she had been “having some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time.”
According to the Daily Press, Flack’s family said she had been advised not to post the message, but they decided to release it to clear up any “untruths.”
“On December the 12th 2019 I was arrested for common assault on my boyfriend,” Flack wrote in the post. “Within 24 hours my whole world and future was swept from under my feet and all the walls that I had taken so long to build around me, collapsed. I am suddenly on a different kind of stage and everyone is watching it happen.”
“I have always taken responsibility for what happened that night. Even on the night. But the truth is …. It was an accident,” she wrote. “I’ve been having some sort of emotional breakdown for a very long time.”
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Flack continued: “But I am NOT a domestic abuser. We had an argument and an accident happened. An accident. The blood that someone SOLD to a newspaper was MY blood and that was something very sad and very personal.”
“The reason I am talking today is because my family can’t take anymore,” the former Love Island host added. “I’ve lost my job. My home. My ability to speak. And the truth has been taken out of my hands and used as entertainment.”
“I can’t spend every day hidden away being told not to say or speak to anyone … I’m not thinking about ‘how I’m going to get my career back.’ I’m thinking about how I’m going to get mine and my family’s life back,” Flack concluded her post. “I can’t say anymore than that.”
RELATED: Love Island Pays Tribute to Caroline Flack After Her Death: ‘You Were a True Friend’
In her last social media post, which was shared on Friday, Flack posted a quartet of images that showed her cuddling with her dog, which she captioned with a red heart emoji.
Flack’s boyfriend Burton, a 27-year-old former professional tennis player and model, shared an emotional tribute to Flack on Instagram after her death.
“My heart is broken,” he wrote alongside a photo of the couple embracing on the beach at sunset. “We had something so special.”
“I am so lost for words I am in so much pain I miss you so much I know you felt safe with me you always said I don’t think about anything else when I am with you and I was not allowed to be there this time I kept asking and asking,” he continued. “I will be your voice baby I promise I will ask all the questions you wanted and I will get all the answers nothing will bring you back but I will try make you proud everyday. I love you with all my heart.”
A tribute to Flack aired during Monday’s episode of Love Island. In a statement to PEOPLE over the weekend, a spokesperson for ITV said, “Everybody at Love Island and ITV is shocked and saddened by this desperately sad news. Caroline was a much loved member of the Love Island team and our sincere thoughts and condolences are with her family and friends.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
